1st Grade · English Language Arts · Parent guide
Short answer. SL.1.3 means your first grader asks and answers questions about what a speaker said, to get more information or clear up confusion. How to practice at home.
Quick answer
This standard covers live listening: when a person is talking (a teacher giving directions, a classmate sharing, grandma telling a story), your child can ask a question to get more information or to clear up something they didn't understand, and answer questions about what was said. The key move is noticing "I didn't get that" and doing something about it instead of staying quietly confused.
Why parents see this skill
A first grader who can say "Wait, which page did you say?" saves themselves from a whole worksheet done wrong. Self-advocacy in listening is the difference between a kid who falls behind quietly and a kid who gets unstuck in ten seconds, and it matters more every grade after this one.
For reference
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.Official Common Core source
See it, then try it
You do not need a lesson plan. Look for these signs in ordinary play, reading, and conversation, then choose one short activity.
Give a deliberately incomplete instruction: "Please put this away." (Where?) "Grab the thing from the kitchen." (Which thing?) When your child asks the missing question, hand out big praise: "Great question, that's exactly what I left out." Two or three rounds, then swap roles and let them stump you.
Your child interviews a grandparent or neighbor for 5 minutes on one topic, like "what school was like when you were 7." Their job: ask at least three follow-up questions that start with what, why, or how. Help them brainstorm two questions in advance so they aren't starting cold.
Explain something in 3 or 4 sentences: how you make pancakes, what's happening this weekend. Then ask your child to tell it back to you and ask one question about a part that was fuzzy. If they say "no questions," leave out an obvious detail next round, like never saying what time you're leaving.
Choose what helps today
Start with the domain guide for context, use the learning library when a concept needs explaining, or print a page when your child is ready to practice.
See every SL.1 skill in order and how the codes fit together.
Open resourceFilter free pages by literacy, phonics, handwriting, and comprehension skills.
Open resourceSimple reading and vocabulary ideas for home and classroom routines.
Open resourceMy child never asks questions when confused, then melts down over homework done wrong. Is that an SL.1.3 problem?
It's the exact behavior this standard targets, and it's very common at 6 and 7. Many kids equate asking with being in trouble or looking dumb. Make asking cheap at home: thank them every time they ask you to repeat something, and let them hear YOU ask clarifying questions out loud. It's a habit built by safety and repetition, not a fixed trait.
Is there a difference between SL.1.2 and SL.1.3? They both sound like asking questions.
Close cousins, different targets. SL.1.2 is about content that was read aloud or played from media, like a storybook or video. SL.1.3 is about a live speaker, and it leans on the social skill of asking a person to explain or say more. In practice teachers work on them together, but report cards may score them separately.
Keep the sequence
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